Search

Improvements of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure and appropriate health-seeking behavior are necessary for achieving sustained control, elimination, or eradication of many neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Indeed, the global strategies to fight NTDs include provision of WASH, but few programs have specific WASH targets and approaches. Collaboration between disease control programs and stakeholders in WASH is a critical next step. A group of stakeholders from the NTD control, child health, and WASH sectors convened in late 2012 to discuss opportunities for, and barriers to, collaboration. The group agreed on a common vision, namely Disease-free communities that have adequate and equitable access to water and sanitation, and that practice good hygiene. Four key areas of collaboration were identified, including (i) advocacy, policy, and communication; (ii) capacity building and training; (iii) mapping, data collection, and monitoring; and (iv) research. We discuss strategic opportunities and ways forward for enhanced collaboration between the WASH and the NTD sectors.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, and Maternal and Newborn Health: An Opportunity for Progress The 'deep dark and continuous stream of mortality' lamented by William Farr in 1876 when describing maternal [...]

In March 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) released a report 1 on the status of water and sanitation in health-care facilities from [...]

The article focuses on the importance of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in the prevention of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). It discusses WASH interventions integrated into the programming guidelines of some global and disease-specific strategies. It also looks at the role of adequate sanitation and hygiene in reducing transmission of NTDs. Reasons behind the insufficient integration of WASH interventions are discussed, which includes having a short-term view of disease control.

Competing Interests: Competing interests: We have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and have the following interests to declare: RH is employed by PMNCH, which provided funding to support the country case study teams; CEA, SB, CB, SNB, LB, EAC, JKD, JFV, VG, HMM, JM, JM, IR, MLR, VS, SS, HS, DU, CNW, PY received funding from PMNCH for consultancy fees and related costs for undertaking the case study. All other authors contributed in kind to this collective effort with their time and inputs.